Petro Demands Probe After Bodies Wash Ashore in Colombia, Cites Possible Link to U.S. Airstrikes

Overview

• Colombian police confirmed bodies were found on a fishing beach in La Guajira, saying identities and causes of death remain undetermined as authorities open a forensic review.
• President Gustavo Petro said the victims may have been killed by U.S. bombings at sea and asked the national medical examiner to identify the bodies and coordinate with Venezuelan prosecutors.
• Since August, reporting counts at least 21 U.S. strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific with more than 80 deaths, as the United Nations cites strong indications of extrajudicial executions and no proven cartel links for the targeted vessels.
• Imagery and U.S. testimony described a Sept. 2 strike in which two men survived the initial attack for about an hour before a second strike killed them, with a U.S. admiral saying the boat planned to meet a vessel bound for Suriname that was never found.
• The Pentagon’s Law of War Manual forbids attacking shipwreck survivors, and the White House and Defense Department face growing pressure to release full footage and detail the legal rationale for the operations.